Re: Chest pain - dilated left atrium, young otherwise healthy adult male

Jon,

I am in my mid-20's, been fairly athletic over my lifetime
and I am still in acceptable shape. About two years ago,
I began experiencing severe chest pain. It never comes on
with exertion. If anything, exertion makes it feel better.
But approx. 30min afterwards I have noticed that I am prone
to the pain. These pains may last 5 minutes, but may also last
for 6-8 hours in a reduced grade. The pain is not typical
angina pain. It is not crushing nor does it cause shortness
of breath. It is "sharp", "aching" and "gnawing". It is
mostly localized to the left side of chest. Also, it seems
that lack of sleep and stress aggravates the condition.
It has had a devastating effect on my life.

I too, was told that it was anxiety.
Despite treating the "anxiety", the chest pain did not subside.
(Who in their right mind wouldn't have anxiety due to unexplained chest
pain!!??)

I saw 5 cardiologists and I had 6 echos and 2 stress echos, a CT scan
of the heart, event monitors, holter monitors and numerous ekgs.
Everything was "normal". No one could provide any diagnosis other than
"hyperadrenergia". I was put on beta blockers, but this did little.

Frustrated, I finally went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (I live
in the United States). They ordered an echocardiogram that showed
normal function except for enlarged left atrial volume (though my left
atrial diameter is normal). Despite a bunch of previous echos,
increased atrial volume was not detected since this is not a standard
measurement outside of the top hospitals like the Mayo Clinic. The
cardiologist indicated that this was due to increased pressure at some
point. She also suggested that I have endothelial dysfunction (which,
admittedly is the diagnosis du jour). I was prescribed quinapril 5mg,
imdur 15-30mg and Lipitor 10mg, all taken once daily. She told me that
quinapril would reduce left atrial size and also improve endothelial
function. The imdur and lipitor would affect the endothelium only.
This combination of medication has provided me with the most relief
that I have had to date. Perhaps a similar treatment program would
benefit you as well.

The onset of the pain also caused me to stop working out and to eat
poorly. I gained 7kg, but I am now in the process of regaining fitness
and losing weight. I believe this is helpful, both physically and
psychologically.

If you live in North America, I strongly recommend a trip to Mayo
Clinic, Mass General, Duke or Cleveland Clinic (these have the best
cardiologists on the continent.)

I could talk for hours about this subject as I've learned a lot over
the past 2 years. If you wish to contact me and discuss this further, I
will be checking e-mail at ChestPainGuy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx for the next 5
days (until 5/16/2006). Send an e-mail there if you wish to talk
further.

I hope you to hear from you and I hope you improve.

Chest Pain Guy

.

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